Buffett Distances from Obama’s Rule

Oct 3, 2011

RUSH: Warren Buffett hosted a fundraiser for the regime in Chicago and in New York at the Four “Treasons.” “Tycoon Warren Buffett, headliner of last nightÂ’s fund-raiser for President Obama at the Four Seasons, reiterated his advice for a tax on ‘ultra-rich people who are paying very low tax rates.'” And, by the way, last week Buffett clarified this, and he made it clear that what Obama wants to do is not what he would do, and he started distancing himself from what Obama’s calling the Buffett Rule.

The Buffett Rule is about this nameless secretary of his who supposedly is getting soaked by the tax code while Buffett skates off easily, and Buffett made clear, this is what he said, (paraphrasing) “If you’re on television and you earn $50 million a year, you’re not affected by what I want to do. If you’re an athlete and you make $50 million a year, my plan is not gonna affect you. What I’m trying to get at is people who have that kind of money who are not paying a legitimate income tax rate.” He has no quarrel with the income tax rate. You understand what I mean when he says if you’re on television and you are earning $50 million a year, my plan won’t change you, I don’t have any problem with you. If you’re an athlete making $50 million, what have you, I have no problem with you. But if you have that kind of money and you’re getting away with paying something like capital gains rate, not the earned income rate, then I, Warren Buffett, want to join Obama and come nail you, you SOB. (interruption) Why are you confused?

What’s so hard to understand about that? Hm-hm. No, no. He’s saying if you make $50 million and you’re paying taxes, he’s got no problem with that. That’s what he’s saying. It’s if you have $50 million and you aren’t paying taxes. But he’s assuming that if you’re making $50 million by appearing on TV that you’re on somebody’s payroll so the deduction is happening and you’re not a problem. And if you’re an athlete making $50 million you’re on a payroll, your taxes are being deducted at the appropriate rate, you’re cool. But if you’re monkeying around with it and your secretary, like my secretary, he’s saying, is paying a higher rate than I am… so basically Warren Buffett distanced himself from Obama a little bit.

See, Buffett’s old-fashioned. He doesn’t realize that billionaires only have to make $200,000 a year to be called billionaires. In Obama’s world you’re a billionaire and have a jet if you make $200,000 a year. He’s uncomfortable about taxing them. But here’s the thing. He hosts this big fundraiser at the Four “Treasons” last night for Obama, but the turnout was, quote, unquote, disappointing. It was $10,000 a plate, the turnout was disappointing. “An Obama fund-raising insider said the campaign has been getting resistance from some Wall Street donors from 2008 over the proposal, though Buffett said the event ‘went OK.'” (imitating Buffett) “I was there. That’s all anybody cared about.” Well, he didn’t say that. You have to know how to read these stories. So here is Buffett, let’s go to CNBC last Friday, Squawk on the Street reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin is interviewing Buffett. Sorkin said, “Let’s talk about the Buffett Rule for a moment, talk about how it came about in terms of the White House getting in touch with you and you putting your name to this.”

BUFFETT: Gene Sperling called and said, “Can we use your name?” And I said yes.

SORKIN: Are you happy with the way it’s being described? Is the program that the White House has presented, a million dollars and over, your program?

BUFFETT: Well, the precise program — I don’t know what their program will be.

RUSH: (laughing) So, yeah, go ahead and use my name, I don’t know what your program’s gonna be. Gene Sperling called and said, can I use your name? Sure, go ahead. But he doesn’t even know what the program is. So the next question came on Bloomberg on a program called The Loop with Betty Liu, and she said, “The Buffett Rule, I know that you’ve had some pretty strong political and social views in your lifetime you’ve expressed very publicly, but this, though, the Buffett Rule, this has become this hot-button issue. Why step out so much in the public this time around on this?”

BUFFETT: Well, it isn’t to have the rich pay more taxes. It’s to have the ultra-rich who are paying very low tax rates pay more taxes. Now, there’s all kinds of ultra-rich who pay normal taxes, but there’s a small segment, but you can find them very easily, who pay very low taxes, including me.

RUSH: There you have it. So it was in that context that he said he doesn’t care about the athlete making $50 million or TV host making $50 million, he’s not targeting them. He’s targeting people like himself. Warren, why don’t you just turn yourself in? Why do you have this massive program to go find people like you? You know where you are. Just turn yourself in. Hee-hee-hee. These people amaze me.